


Smooth Talk and Butterflies (let's be Pandora's Hidden Prize)

by SapphireAmethystPatch



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:01:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29978463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireAmethystPatch/pseuds/SapphireAmethystPatch
Summary: If anything made Julie Molina jealous, it was seeing her classmates and friends switch bodies with their soulmates. Once she turned 16, then the universe would decide when it was time for the swap.A body swap was what she wanted, yes, but not like this.
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn & Carrie Wilson, Flynn/Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina & Luke Patterson, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 7
Kudos: 58





	1. prologue: lonely love is left to sit and wait

**Author's Note:**

> heyyyyy I have no reason for this. i just thought "juke body swap" and now we're here! I needed a bit of shenanigans, fluff, and a little bit of miscommunication/angst (ofc, with comfort after!) so I made it myself.
> 
> title and all chapter names from Soulmate Song by Carson James Argenna, and there are references in the story too! It's so good and just screams Juke!! Link:  
> https://open.spotify.com/track/1hFT5DlSwkLxzKYsgekySw?si=xXYr89uyQx2VXsKaUCMF4g&utm_source=copy-link

As far as teenagers went, Julie liked to consider herself quite content. She was happy with her body (it got her from point A to B pretty well), she had good friendships, and was a slightly-above-average student.

That, and her band of ghosts helped brighten even the dullest of days. 

She wasn’t usually the jealous type. Not the kind of girl to wish for what others had (excessively) or to spend lots of time or energy devoted to scrolling others’ picture-perfect lives on Instagram. She was quite happy to work towards her dreams and be content with her life as is.

Usually.

But it was hard on days like this, when a classmate Julie had spoken to a few times stumbled into homeroom 15 minutes late. Instead of the immaculate yet natural makeup she normally wore, or the ponytail she could easily be identified with, or the cute and trendy outfits she usually adorned, she came in, looking for all the world, absolutely ravaged. Bedhead left in a poor attempt at a high bun, sweatpants and a hoodie, and no eyeliner or anything else. Even her quirky earrings were missing. 

It was so out-of-character for her, instantly everyone knew why she looked like she woke up in a ditch.

She had body swapped with her soulmate.

Julie didn’t bother with her normal friendly smile to her acquaintance, knowing her friend wasn’t in there to recognise her. The random person in her body probably didn’t even know Julie.

And in any case, Julie was no longer in the mood to smile.


	2. our best bet is to run away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to everyone who commented on the prologue! i was planning on writing it all first and then uploading all the chapters at once, but there was so much love and support that i decided to go ahead and upload what i have so far :)

Julie wouldn’t go so far as to say her whole day was ruined, but the homeroom encounter  _ had _ damped her mood quite a bit. 

After Flynn had caught wind of what happened, they invited themself to Julie’s house for a girl’s night in, and Julie couldn’t be more grateful for her friend. 

And even when she came home, it was almost as if her dad and Carlos could sense her disappointment, and they made hot cocoa and popcorn for her and Flynn to share. 

Reggie had come in at some point and joined their movie night, but Flynn had to go home soon after.

“You sure you’re okay?” Reggie asked (again) when the door shut behind Flynn. 

“Yes, Reg. I said I’m fine.”

“You only watch chick-flicks when you’re upset.” He pointed out, and Julie hung her head. 

“Damn you boys and knowing me too well.”

“Oh! Speaking of boys, they sent me in here to see if you were coming down for practice.”

“Reg! That was like, a half hour ago!” she laughed shallowly and threw the blankets aside. “Let’s go!”

The walk to the studio let her take a much needed deep breath. It was just a little jealousy, no need to get bent out of shape.

And nothing could beat the way Luke’s face always lit up when she walked in a room. She found her face mirroring his even though she didn’t really feel like smiling. 

“You look like you’ve been crying, you good?”

Of course Alex was the first to notice. 

“Yeah! Yeah, all good.” Despite her best efforts, Julie could tell her smile didn’t reach her eyes. 

“No no, none of that. Sit.” Luke demanded in the most heart-warming way, she couldn’t say no. 

“Now tell us what’s wrong,” Luke said, sitting down at her feet after she settled in the armchair, “or we’ll interrogate it out of you.”

The other two sat down on either side of Luke, and Julie felt like she was ready to read Of Mice and Men to a bunch of toddlers. 

“Fine, fine. I was just feeling a little bummed. One of my classmates body swapped today.”

“Isn’t that a good thing though?” Reggie piped. Alex reached behind Luke to slap his arm.

“I guess. I was just… I was a bit jealous.”

“Your friend swapped with your crush?” Luke asked, eyes fixed on his hands.

“No! No, I don’t even  _ like _ anyone at school. It’s just that...” Julie willed her face to cool down, hoping they didn’t catch her near slip up, “it’s just hard, you know? I’m already young for my grade, so all my friends are swapping bods and they try to comfort me but I know they’re just being nice and I guess I’m just anxious.”

Julie hadn’t realised she had rambled until her body was aggressively sucking in a breath. Reggie was mumbling something about ‘swapping bods’ but otherwise the studio fell into silence.

“It’s okay Jules,” Luke started, a barely noticeable quiver in his voice, “I haven’t body swapped either.”

Julie looked at her hands, mentally cursing herself. She should not have vented to the boys about this. 

She’d heard that before. Everyone has. It’s a common thing throughout all generations. I haven’t body swapped.

But usually, the saying ended with ‘yet’.

Julie couldn’t think about Luke not having body swapped. And how there likely wasn’t ever going to be a ‘yet’ for him. If she did, she was going to cry and she needed the boys to know (think) she was fine. 

“Me neither.” Reggie whispered. 

And just like that, the tears started flowing. She slid off the chair and practically fell into their laps, but the three of them hugged tightly. After a moment, Alex joined in too, whispering reassurances and acting as their comforter. 

Eventually, after a lot of crying from Julie and some silent shaking from the boys, they walked Julie to her room for the night. 

As Julie laid in bed, it took all she had not to start crying again.

She was just 15 years old. She would turn 16 in a couple months, and then her clock would start ticking. After her 16th, it was only a matter of time; the universe would decide when she and her soulmate were ready. 

But Luke and Reggie? Would they ever get soulmates? It was very likely they had left their soulmates behind in 1995. Alex hadn’t mentioned if he had body swapped, but if he had? Julie didn’t know which was worse: to leave your soulmate behind before or  _ after _ you had found them? 

She turned onto her side and took in the eerie stillness of her house. She had never really thought about what happened if your soulmate died. Julie usually tended to avoid morbid thoughts like this, but her interaction with the boys was still fresh. What if her soulmate died? Would she get a new one? Would the first or the second one be her true soulmate? Would she still get a new one if she had already body swapped and found the first one? 

What if  _ she  _ died?

Julie flipped over to her other side, as if she could leave that question on the other side of the room. And taking in the stillness of the night outside her window, she let herself daydream. 

She let herself imagine her 16th birthday, blowing out the candles on her birthday cake and waking up the next morning in a stranger’s bed. She’d run to her soulmate’s closet, throwing on some clothes; maybe a hoodie and jeans smelling like cologne, or maybe a dress smelling of flowers, and finally gathering the courage to find a mirror to gaze at the love of her life.

She let herself imagine her 16th birthday, again, albeit different this time around, waking up on the couch in the studio. Feeling right at home in Luke’s body, making no attempt to tame her (his?) hair and running up to her bedroom to scoop Luke (herself?) into her arms, laughing giddily. 

The back of her mind pleaded with her to stop getting her hopes up, but Julie let herself indulge in the wisps of her incoming dream. Sleep pulled at her eyelids, breaths getting deeper, deeper, until she fell into the deepest sleep she could fathom. 

She didn’t dream like she wanted (she was hoping to have another fictional date with Luke at the beach or the theater or on Hollywood Boulevard). Colors swirled in her vision, and unidentifiable sounds filled her mind. It was soothing beyond comparison.

When she woke up the next morning, she was startled to find Reggie in her face. 

“He’s up!”

Alex stopped his pacing from a few feet away, and it was then Julie realized she was in the studio. 

On the couch.

“Oh my god, we thought you died! Again.” Alex stepped around the coffee table, looking down at her with worry.

Julie didn’t trust herself to speak. This wasn’t happening. Right? 

But a glance down at herself told her everything she needed to know. There she ( _ he?! _ ) was, bare muscular arms and all. And glowing.

She did  _ not _ feel at home. 

“Please say something, dude. You scared the shit out of us.” Alex looked like he wanted to shake her shoulders, but refrained from doing so only when Julie started hyperventilating. 

She wasn’t used to the amount of air she was pulling in by the gulp. She was a singer, yes, but Luke’s lungs were much larger than hers (ew ew nevermind she didn’t want to think about using his organs). 

The boys had come to sit down next to her, hands on her back and helping to slow her breathing. 

Still not wanting to speak, Julie pushed the boys off her and stood up. She swayed as the blood rushed to her toes, and the extra few inches of height didn’t help to orient herself. 

She made her way into the bathroom, almost not ready to look at her reflection, but doing so anyway.

It was so weird to look at Luke through his own eyes. But there was no mistaking it. 

Oh my gosh. If Alex and Reggie were here, comforting her, who was helping  _ Luke _ ?

She bolted out of the studio, surprised that Luke seemed to be just as fast as her, longer legs but more weight to pull. She ignored Alex and Reggie’s shouts as she ran up the stairs and into the house through the back door. 

She could hear her dad and Carlos in the kitchen. 

Julie wasn’t thinking clearly. Luke was her soulmate and she was _ in his body _ , so she’d blame that for not thinking before she ran into the house, aiming to go past the kitchen and to her room. 

Everything happened too quickly to process after that.

Carlos screamed, her dad startled and aggressively demanding to know who she was, Luke (herself? this was getting confusing) barreled down the stairs, stopping as they locked eyes, and the only thing Julie could think was how weird it was to look at herself from an outsider’s view, and how short she really was.

It wasn’t until Ray demanded to know what was going on that their gaze broke, and Julie heard her own voice mutter an ‘oh no’.

She opted to work this out with Luke later, stepping slowly over to her dad. 

“Dad, it’s me, Julie. We swapped!” 

Carlos looked delighted, while Ray was only confused. “But you’re not 16!” His gaze flitted from her’s to Luke’s. “That’s not possible. And the body swap isn’t supposed to make the other person’s body come  _ to _ you!”

Now they both cringed. Luke made his way over, sitting at the breakfast bar next to Carlos. 

“I don’t know why we swapped either, but he…” Julie looked at her hands, still surprised to see Luke’s large pale ones. “He’s been living in the garage.” She let out in a rushed breath. 

She had never seen her father this appalled or surprised. “What?” At least he wasn’t too angry.

“I’m so sorry dad, but it’s kind of a really weird story that we will definitely tell you about later.”

“Julie,” Luke started, and she shuddered at hearing her name come from her own body. “You have to get to school.”

Everyone whipped their heads around to the nearest clock, surprised at the time. They had to leave as soon as possible.

“We need to get you ready. You’re coming to school with me.”

“Have fun, you two.” Carlos piped, and with the cloud of adrenaline leaving them, they both stiffened, turning towards him and Ray.

“You can see him?” Luke and Julie asked at the same time.


	3. love's ten thousand miles apart

Julie led her own body up the stairs after dismissing that last question. Luke was definitely coming to school with her, the thought of facing her teachers and peers in a stranger’s body  _ and _ alone too much to handle. 

Luke was a perfect gentleman, closing his eyes as Julie dressed her self so he wouldn’t have to, idly wondering how people normally managed to get dressed without their soulmate to do it for them. Neither spoke until Julie led him into her bathroom to fix her hair. 

She stood behind herself, carefully picking at her curls and pulling it back into a quick braid so Luke wouldn’t be bothered by it. 

“God, you’re so short.” He mumbled, and Julie couldn’t help but laugh.

“I was thinking the same thing earlier.” The voice that rumbled out startled her, and for some reason it was  _ this _ statement that made her realize just how deep his voice was. The back of her mind asked if she could try doing that sing-growl he did that she loved so much and was never able to replicate. She rested her chin on top of his head (she tried not to look in the mirror) and noted how much she liked being tall. 

Ray called from the bottom of the stairs to remind them they were already late, startling them out of their moment. 

If hearing her voice was weird, hearing her laughter from below her was even worse. She didn’t have to wonder long why Luke was laughing at her, though, because a quick glimpse in the mirror showed how red Luke’s face was behind her eyes. She could tell she was blushing by the heat in her face (it felt a little different as it spread across Luke’s structure but still familiar enough to grasp) but when she blushed, it usually took a lot more color for it to be noticeable. This, however, was not subtle at all and it appalled Julie that if Luke was flustered at all it would be instantly noticeable. She had just never seen him really blush before. 

He was smooth as all hell, apparently.

She left the bathroom in a rush and knew only by intuition that Luke had followed her. She grabbed her backpack from her bed (it was smaller? he wasn’t  _ that _ much bigger than her) and they left without much discussion with her dad or brother. 

Julie was hoping she’d get to talk to Luke about their swap and what it meant for them, but only a few steps down the sidewalk, Alex and Reggie poofed in next to them. 

“So we gathered that you two body swapped,” Alex started, pausing while Reggie pipped out ‘called it!’. “But we’re stuck on why Luke’s body is visible to everyone else.”

She glanced down at Luke in her body, eyes trained dutifully in front. 

“We’re not sure, either. We might not really have any answers until we switch back tomorrow.”

The boys (including Luke) nodded. Reggie did some silent gestures to Alex, and then they both poofed away to who-knows-where. 

She took a deep breath, almost scared to look at Luke. In a situation as delicate as this, Julie more often took a more passive approach, but in Luke’s body? It was like she could feel the urge to hold her head high, to stand up tall and straight and broad, like a peacock on display. It was unsettling. 

Luke slipped his hand in hers, the sensation of small and soft fingers against her palm sending butterflies to her stomach. Luke was so  _ small _ , not only in height but in demeanor (taking on her usual approach? it was instinct, then). 

Without thinking much she pulled Luke closer to her, intertwining their fingers and letting her arm settle behind his. 

If she thought about it too hard, it would seem unnatural. She had always been a ‘ _ speak up only when needed _ ’ kind of girl, and taking on this more forward attitude was sending flags waving in her mind. 

But it was like a piece of Luke had remained in his body, and the pull to protect and embrace was stronger than her mind’s old thought process. And if the shy periodic squeeze of Luke’s fingers against hers was any indication, Luke was having a similar dilemma.

They continued to walk in comfortable silence until the school came into view. 

Julie gasped before she could help it, slapping at her (unfamiliar) back pockets in search of her phone. Luke chuckled and pulled it out from his back pocket.

“I snagged it from your nightstand before we left. I know how much you like to have it with you.” He said, and his voice was so small and soft and  _ hers _ . 

“Thank you.” She responded, still not used to his deeper voice. 

“I’ll never take my pockets for granted again. You girls aren’t kidding.”

Julie laughed, looking down at the ensemble she had dressed Luke in. She had used her baggiest jeans (which weren’t that baggy by his standards, but he wouldn’t be able to handle the skinny jeans) and a loose tee with a sweatshirt. He had protested at first, but after Julie went on a short rant on how schools were kept just a little too cold for the female body he relented. He’d thank her later.

It took longer than she would like to admit to fumble with his larger fingers and unlock her phone and even longer to type out a semi-coherent text to Flynn. They had arrived at the school doors by the time she had finished. 

“Ready?” She asked him, and he looked up at her and  _ goodness _ had her eyes ever been this pretty? Was it the color she took for granted every day or the emotion he put behind them?

“It’s your school, Molina. I’m just here for the ride.” Despite his carefree words, he clasped their hands together again and led her inside. 

After the rough encounter with the front desk lady (who was so endeared, would not stop talking about young love) and gave Julie an excused absence and Luke a visitors pass (and confusion, but they decided Julie should get the visitor’s pass since Luke’s body was a stranger to the school).

Homeroom was released as they walked down the hall, and the sudden rush of students and eyes on her was not helping her nerves. She was ready for the questioning glances, but not the stares of hormonal teens looking for their next meal. 

“Why are they looking at me like I’m a piece of meat?” She leaned down to whisper in Luke’s ear.

“You get used to it. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re pretty hot.”

Julie would have shot back a snide remark if she didn’t feel so exposed. She regretted the sleeveless tee. Luke should never have to get used to this, like he was just eye candy. Julie considered herself lucky she didn’t get openly gawked at or hit on very often. 

Leading the way, they found Flynn’s locker and waited. And waited. And waited.

“What is taking her so long? This is an emergency!” She muttered. 

“Hey now, didn’t think I was that bad.” Luke punched her shoulder, and she noticed how it didn’t feel like much of anything at all. 

Julie smiled, reassuring him she was just nervous. 

She noticed Flynn coming down the hallway earlier than she would have, the added height certainly helpful. She wondered how Luke was faring without his precious extra four inches. 

Flynn made eye contact and almost tripped, speeding up and pushing people out of the way to get to her faster.

“Luke?? What are you doing here?” Flynn stuttered, looking to Julie (who was actually Luke) for answers. He just shrugged. “And how can I, and everyone else, might I add, see you?” She turned to Luke (who was actually Julie). 

“We body swapped! We’re soulmates!” Julie almost squealed like she normally would have, but thought of Luke’s vocal chords and refrained.

Flynn cooed sweetly, giving them both a hug before stepping back and waiting.

“We have no idea how Luke’s bod is visible, but who cares! This is great!”

Julie regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. They hadn’t actually talked about their feelings about this yet. Of course she was happy about this, she was in love with him. But him?

His fingers squeezed against hers, and for a moment she had forgotten they had been holding hands the whole time, but his quiet reassurance was good for now. He smiled at her, that smile, despite it being on her own face, was still so  _ Luke _ it made her knees weak.

The first bell rang, signalling a few minutes before first period began. Flynn waved goodbye as Julie led Luke to her first class.

Walking in the door of the classroom was somehow worse than the hallway, where all 30 familiar faces were fixed on hers immediately. She smiled timidly, surprised as it felt more confident than she was intending, a small yet uncontrollable bounce in her step as she made her way to her desk. She plopped her bookbag down and pulled an extra chair over to her desk for Luke to sit in. Everyone seemed to at least assume what was going on, but it was confirmed when attendance was called and a decidedly  _ not _ feminine voice responded with ‘here’ to Julie’s Molina’s name.

Another thing Julie wasn’t ready for was his handwriting. It truly was awful. She thought she’d get to keep her handwriting since it was her brain, right? 

Wait, that didn’t make sense but she really didn’t want to think about the technicalities. 

She had written the title of her notes page before getting scrap paper and taking notes on that instead, not wanting illegible notes in her neatly organised notebook. And she made sure to remember to tease Luke about that later.

But what she wasn’t ready for was Luke just  _ staring at her _ . It was hard to focus on math equations when she could feel his gaze boring into her, making her ears burn. And everytime she looked over to tell him to stop, she would become tongue-tied at how soft his expression was. If Julie knew she could make that face she would have been doing that this whole time. Her eyes were just so soft and… dare she say it… loving?

Needless to say, she would turn away quickly, eventually giving her phone to him and letting him figure out how to play Temple Run so she could focus. 

The next two classes were basically the same, the excited chatter of her classmates as they walked in, the impossibility of focus, and even when he was playing games (and he had watched her send Snapchat streaks so often he snapped one without her noticing and sent it to everyone in her list with a messily drawn ‘S’ in the corner, proud of his accomplishment), she could still feel it every time he looked up from the screen to her. She didn’t like the way she was certainly turning red.

Lunch, however, was a nightmare. 

Luke had gotten pulled aside by some of Julie’s acquaintances, while some others practically cornered Julie with a million questions. She couldn’t really blame them, it wasn’t often that soulmates went to the same high school or even knew each other before the swap. And even less often students brought their soulmates to school with them. Sometimes kids went to their own school, other times they found their soulmate’s and went there, braving the new terrain.

She answered as many as she could. Yes, they were friends before. No, he already graduated. No, they hadn’t talked about what this meant for their relationship. 

Julie flinched as fingertips grazed  _ his _ bicep. It wasn’t hers anymore despite being the one feeling it, a surge of protectiveness over his body springing to life within her. The other girls laughed at her reaction, the girl who touched her looking a little sheepish.

“Don’t be shy, Julie. Your soulmate’s really hot. You’re so lucky.”

Julie felt her face heat up, and she wasn’t sure whether it was from her own embarrassment, or Luke’s body reacting to the flattery. 

She couldn’t help the small sigh she let out as she glanced over to Luke though, a few girls including Flynn getting to know him. “Yeah, he’s pretty great.”

“You’re so in love with him.” One of her dance classmates said as if it were as easy as stating the color of the sky. 

“No! No I’m not!”

One of the other girls snapped her fingers as her face lit up in recognition. “Oh! I know where I’ve seen this face before! Isn’t he in your hologram band?”

If Luke had blood, it ran ice cold (and she was starting to suspect he  _ did _ have blood, at least now). Her hesitation answered for her.

“No way! I thought your band lived in Sweden? What’s he doing here?”

Julie was awful at lying. And to be put on the spot in an unfamiliar body was almost too much. 

“They… the guys were visiting! We wanted to have some band bonding, you know? And… and we woke up this morning and had swapped! The other guys didn’t want to come to school cause, you know, already done school. Yep. And I guess the universe needed us to swap early, cause you know, I’m not 16 just yet, so I guess it knew we weren’t going to be close again for a while. And swapping across seas would be terrifying, right? So here we are!”

Julie inwardly cringed at her word vomit. The other girls didn’t think much of it, thank goodness, just gushing about how sweet and romantic it all was. Julie could only nod nervously until they left to eat their lunches and probably gossip about her.

Julie went over to Luke, rescuing him from the other girls and leading him and Flynn to their normal table. 

After the girls had stopped getting all in her business, lunch was pretty nice. Flynn bantered with Luke, and Julie never doubted their ability to make comebacks, but Flynn was snapping right back at Luke with just as much vigor as he was spitting at them and Julie could only thank the universe everything worked out.

Only, it didn’t. None of it made sense. There was no real reason the universe couldn’t wait until she turned 16. 

So why?


	4. who cares if it's by chance

It had only been 8 hours, but Luke wasn’t used to sitting down for so long. It had been a while since he was in school. At least he’d had Julie’s company and her infuriating tiny computer games to occupy him. But the gorillas chasing his little character were the least of his worries (even if the graphics were totally rad). Because Julie Molina had wiggled her way under his skin (figuratively and literally) and into his heart. 

And now they were soulmates.

Luke was so excited. He wouldn’t go so far as to say he was  _ in  _ love with her yet, but he was sure he loved her and didn’t want to ruin their ‘interesting little relationship’.

But while Luke was giddy, what was Julie thinking? It couldn’t be easy to find out your soulmate had died ten years before you were  _ born _ . And it was one thing to be able to touch her after their Orpheum gig, but it was another to feel the life-like heat radiating off his body from two feet away.

It was like the universe was taunting him.

Yet, hope still lingered in his chest. He was dead, sure, but why give him a soulmate if he couldn’t be with her somehow? That would just be cruel, and the whole point of soulmates was to spend the rest of your lives together. 

He had gotten lost in his thoughts, and before he knew it, Julie was nudging him. A glance at the clock told him school was ending in a few minutes. He groaned at the thought of having to walk home.

One thing Luke was surprised at was the amount of pain Julie’s body was in. Her lower back had a perpetual dull ache that didn’t really go away. When he asked Julie why her back hurt so much, she flushed red and refused to answer. Nonetheless, he tried not to think about it while they made the rest of the walk home in silence.

“I’m not really ready to tell my dad you guys are dead.”

He turned his gaze to her, startled at her sudden comment.

“I know it’s tough, but you had to tell him at some point anyway.” He stretched his hands to rest behind his head, but a sharp pain shot across his chest, prompting his hands down to his sides again. He inhaled sharply through his teeth. 

Julie looked at him with pity. “Yeah, don’t stretch too much pal.”

“You need to see a doctor.”

She let out a single chuckle, somehow amused at the idea of getting medical help for her various issues. “How do you think dad’ll take it? I think he’d be pretty understanding _ if _ he believes us.”

Us. He wasn’t sure what he did to get the opportunity to be seen by lifers again, if only to help Julie explain his band’s existence. Although, he wouldn’t have wanted Julie to be in a ghost’s body, invisible to all. It sometimes bothered him and the boys and Julie didn’t ever need to find out what it was like.

“Your dad is pretty cool. I wouldn’t be surprised if he just shrugged us off.”

“Right,” she drawled out, the sarcasm almost tangible, “He may be cool, but I don’t think he’s ‘find out ghosts are real and shrug it off’ cool.”

It bothered Luke that looking up into his own face seemed slightly normal. He was dead, though, so anything was possible. But how could he be unsettled when he could still see the emotion behind  _ his  _ eyes, could tell by the way Julie held his body language that it was undeniably  _ her _ ?

Julie turned abruptly, and Luke realized they had already arrived home. Her hands came to her neck to reach for the necklaces she fiddled with when she was nervous, only to remember they were on Luke.

“Boss, it’ll be fine. I’m right here.” He reached for her hand, still not used to bringing his hand up higher than normal. It was all worth it when her fingers settled between his, and even though it felt foreign, it felt like them. She took a deep breath and stood at the door, hand unmoving on the door handle.

“Luke?”

“Yeah?”

“When we walk in,” She started, looking at her feet. She still maintained a totally Julie softness despite the tenor of her current voice. Luke was ready to drop everything at her feet; he’d do anything for her. “Can you announce us? My dad likes us to say who’s walking in as we come in so he knows it’s not a burglar and so he knows we’re home. And he’s not used to your voice but he is used to mine so if you could just say ‘It’s Julie!’ as we walk in that would be great.”

Luke struggled to contain his mirth and relief. “Sure, boss.”

Luke humored her as they stepped in, making the call loud enough so Ray would hear them. He called back, saying he was in the kitchen, and so Luke led Julie through her own house. Her hands trembled slightly as she squeezed his fingers tighter. He could feel her thudding heartbeat pulsing in her fingertips.

“Mija! How was school?” Her dad asked cheerfully as they came into view, his eyes lingering on their joined hands, only for a moment, but it was enough for Julie to notice because she held on even tighter. 

“It was good. This one’s handwriting is awful, so I’ll have to transfer my notes tomorrow.” Julie nudged him with her elbow at an attempt to lighten the mood.

Ray was clearly not convinced.

“Sit! Sit.” Ray gestured at the breakfast bar.

While settling into his chair next to Julie, Luke felt like he was going to be interrogated. Like he was on the spot. And he knew he was, having been living in Ray’s garage for almost 2 months without his knowledge. But being in the sight of an unhappy Ray felt different than being in trouble with other adults Luke had known. Disappointing Ray felt like a crime.

Luke hadn’t realised Julie had latched onto his hand again until Ray was looking at him expectantly (and he hadn’t known he’d been holding his breath either). 

“So. I want the full story. No beating around the bush, no funny business.” Ray started, face certainly not pleased, but tone understanding. Julie was insanely lucky her dad was so cool.

“The full-full story?” Julie squeaked out. Her dad leveled her with a ‘look’. 

“Okay. Luke,” Julie turned towards him with fear in her eyes. “Why don’t you go get Alex and Reggie, too? They should be here for this.”

“There’s  _ more _ ?” Ray put in before Luke could answer. He just nodded his head and hopped down from the stool. 

Luke stood up and closed his eyes in concentration.

“Dad, I am so, so sorry! But you’ll understand in a bit, you’ll see!” Julie reassured him, taking a moment to look over at Luke.

“...Luke?”

He looked up sheepishly, for a moment remembering he wasn’t a ghost. “Right. Can’t poof.”

As he jogged out the back door to the studio, he could hear Julie laughing behind him. The sound followed him all the way outside and down the stairs.

And then he ran right into the studio doors.

Damn being corporeal! He slid open the doors to find Alex and Reggie looking up from their card game expectantly. 

“Run into the door?” Alex mused.

“Shut up. We’re telling Ray, come on.”

Reggie shot up from his chair and poofed into the house immediately, the cards in his hands fluttering to the ground.

Alex chuckled and poofed in too, leaving Luke to jog back up the stairs alone. 

As he made his way back to his chair, he remembered what it felt like to be a kid, walking up to the teacher’s desk after being singled out. He swallowed a lump in his throat.

“Okay… Julie, explain. Now.”

Beside him, she took a deep breath. “Okay: from the beginning. On July 22, 1995--”

“What? Julie, I don’t need--”

“No, dad, you need to hear this. On July 22, 1995, four boys in a garage band called Sunset Curve were getting ready to play the Orpheum.”

“Not a garage band…” Luke mumbled as Ray shook his head.

“I said no beating around the bush.”

“Humor me, please.” She pleaded with her eyes, and despite it not being his daughter’s normal face, Ray relented.

Reggie gave her a thumbs up from behind Ray.

“Three of them went to get street dogs before the show, but the dogs ended up being poisoned, and they died.”

Ray opened his mouth as if to speak, but Julie held her hand up to stop him. 

“Okay, so there’s your backstory. Now, about two months ago. Remember the night you asked me to clean out mom’s studio so you could take pics for the real estate website?”

At this, his expression softened. So far, so good! She had been worried for nothing. Luke relaxed in his seat.

“Well, I went out there and in the loft was Sunset Curve’s demo CD. I popped it in the player, and when it started playing, the three boys who died in ‘95… I don’t know, I guess materialized? They kinda fell out of the air. It’s hard to describe. And I ran out and said I’d seen a ghost? Yeah, well, I saw three.”

Luke was starting to become bothered by Ray’s keen observation, instantly noticing the way Julie’s voice grew soft as she looked at him, hand resting over Luke’s on his leg. 

“Julie. You really expect me to believe that not only ghosts exist, but that three of them have been living in our garage too?”

With a new resolve, Julie lifted her chin. “Yes. Luke’s one of them, and the other two, Alex and Reggie, are behind you.”

Ray’s shoulders slumped. They were losing him! Luke felt like he had to do something. Before he could come up with any good ideas, though, Reggie’s face lit up.

“Julie! I’ll just put on a little ghost show!”

“I don’t even want to know what that is.” Julie said, panicked, and Ray looked over his shoulder to see who Julie was talking to.

Reggie ran behind the counter into the living room. 

“Reggie, this better not be a repeat of what you did to Carlos and Victoria.” Luke muttered. 

And just as luck would have it, Carlos bounced down the stairs. Just in time for their fun little conversation. Just in time to see Reggie grab a white blanket from the couch and throw it over his head. 

At least he wasn’t trying to mimic a ghost from a cheesy movie this time, opting to stand up straight, arms stretched out with a ‘ta da!” that went unheard by his audience.

“Dad! The ghost we saw is back! See, Tia was telling the truth!” Carlos shouted in glee from across the room, tapping on the tablet in his hand and asking Reggie for a picture.

The kitchen group stared, dumbfounded, as Reggie posed behind Carlos for a selfie.

“Wait, you said  _ repeat _ ?” Julie whipped her head to Luke, knocking him down another few inches.

“Reggie may have scared your aunt…”

“We tried to stop him!” Alex piped.

Julie facepalmed. This was not going well. One look at her dad was enough to tell. 

“Oh my god, there’s three ghosts in our house. We’re haunted.”

“Well,” Luke started, eager to input into the conversation, “We aren’t like, haunting, per se. Just hanging out.”

“ _ We _ ?”

“Yeah, so Luke’s one of the ghosts, and we aren’t sure how, but when we switched bodies, he became like, alive again?” Julie cringed. “I know it sounds dumb but we don’t really have anything to go off here. I mean, I can feel his heart beating, and he didn’t really have a heart before.”

“Thanks Jules.”

“Hey! Don’t pretend like I’m wrong; you  _ were _ air!”

“Okay okay. Where’s the third? I’m getting kinda freaked out that I can’t see him.”

“You heard the man!” Reggie yelled, stopping his photoshoot with Carlos. “Grab a blanket!”

“Don’t make me.”

“You heard him, Alex. You can use the pink one.” Julie smirked at Alex’s teasing glare.

Julie filled in Ray to the ghostly antics he couldn’t hear as Alex begrudgingly walked over to the living room. 

Luke slow-clapped as Alex pulled the thin pink blanket over his shoulders like a shawl.

“Look alive, Alex!” Julie teased.

“Yeah, ‘Lex, we are in the  _ living _ room, after all.” Reggie said, waggling his eyebrows.

“I’m gonna kill you again.”

Ray could only watch in disbelief as the two sheet-clad ghosts chased each other around the kitchen. Eventually Alex tackled Reggie.

“Are you two done? Roughhouse on your own time.” Luke muttered.

“Mija…” Ray started, but just shook his head, unable to finish his sentence.

Finally breaking free of Alex’s grip, Reggie shot up right behind Ray. His sheet must have brushed against him, for Ray shot back like he had been burned.

“Can I go grocery shopping with him tomorrow?” Reggie asked, rearranging his sheet around his shoulders so Julie could see his face.

Julie tried to stifle her sigh. “Don’t you go every week anyway?”

Reggie looked sheepish, looking at his toes. “I just thought I’d ask this time.”

Despite her increasing tiredness, Julie smiled, softening her gaze and turning to her dad. Luke was in awe of her composure.

“Dad?”

“Yes?”

“Reggie wants to know if he can go grocery shopping with you tomorrow? He does every week but he wanted to ask.”

Ray stiffened as the white sheet took a step closer to him. 

“Every week?” He said softly.

Reggie looked to Julie, a fire in his eyes. “I just… never got to run errands with my dad. Even when Ray’s doing them alone, he’s so happy. It’s nice.”

“Reg…” Julie started, afraid she might cry. “Can I tell him?”

“Please do.”

“Reggie likes running errands with you,” Julie said just as softly, Ray finally meeting her watery eyes. “He says he never got to do stuff with his dad, and he says you’re a lot more fun to be around.”

If there was any fight left in Ray, it visibly left at this comment. Ray nodded his head. 

Carlos said the ghosts could hang out with him anytime, and he’d teach them how to play video games. And finally, the afternoon was winding down. Alex folded his and Reggie’s blankets and poofed back to the garage. And per Ray’s request, Julie went to bed in her own bed that night (after a very awkward dinner) (Ray didn’t want Luke in Julie’s bed more than needed. Julie could just come back inside in the morning).

Luke said goodnight to Julie, biting his tongue about the whole ghost thing. He wasn’t really looking forward to being dead again, but every day with Julie felt like he was alive, so he wasn’t too mad. 

Julie, on the other hand, wasn’t sure she was ready to switch back. She took her time slipping off Luke’s shoes and settling into bed.

She knew that switching back to her own body would be much appreciated, but a tiny part of her said that Luke might change when his soul was on the way back to him. And the last thing Julie wanted was to not be able to touch him anymore. Or what if she couldn’t see him anymore? Or what if he dis--

Julie flipped over to face the other way, the blankets cool around her. Maybe she could leave those thoughts on the other side of the room. 

She looked out of her window. The faint shine of the studio lights abruptly turned off, and Julie belatedly realized they had forgotten to tell her dad about the band. Well, maybe it was for the better. Let him get used to regular ghosts before musical ghosts. 

As Julie settled into bed, she pouted. They had been robbed of a whole evening to talk about what this all meant. 

There would always be tomorrow.

_ But what if there wasn’t a tomorrow? _

Julie drifted off into a fitful sleep (Luke’s body was able to fall asleep so quickly? was that just him or was that because he hadn’t properly slept in over 25 years?), nightmares filling her mind. Of Luke disappearing after the switch. Of the other guys claiming Luke was  _ right there _ beside her, but unable to see or hear him. Of being trapped in his body forever. 

Of Luke disappearing with her soul still inside. 


	5. bell curve; it seems extremes arise

Something didn’t add up about Julie Molina’s hologram band, and Carrie intended to find out.

She had mentioned this to her dad, who only seemed distracted and left a short while later to meditate in his room. She had learned quite quickly not to mention her band to him, something about it irked him, but Carrie didn’t have time to think about that.

Watching Julie perform at The Orpheum had been like a slap to the face. She had been so, so angry at Julie, only for her to realize as the last notes of Stand Tall played that she was jealous. And deep down, Carrie had always known that. But admitting it was another thing.

But, impressed or not, there was no way that dingy little projector created such clear (not to mention, 3D) images and high quality audio. Transmitting signals from all the way from Sweden meant at least a few seconds of delay, and how did they perform when the guys would always be a few seconds behind Julie?

She didn’t know much about machines, but she had been to plenty of her dad’s concerts, and it took a lot more than one machine to pull a stunt like that.

So color Carrie surprised when Julie walked into school the day before over a half hour late, holding hands with her lead guitarist. And not only that, but to find they were soulmates and had body swapped. 

And the fact that he didn’t have even an inkling of a Swedish accent didn’t go unnoticed.

She had sent some girls over to talk them up and see what was up. So the band was visiting from out-of-town? 17 years old but graduated? She had looked it up, most kids in Sweden didn’t graduate until 18 or 19.

And another thing: they were so in love, it made Carrie’s chest tighten painfully.

She had missed her chance to talk to her that first day. (there shouldn’t have even been a ‘first day’!) But of course Julie Molina got an extra day in her soulmate’s body. Of course Julie Molina got to stay in the music program and got three hot guys and a band that was quickly becoming the talk of the town and got to open for Panic! At the Disco and one lovesick puppy of a boy to follow her around, despite how unsettling it was to see Julie’s own form taking the sidelines and letting what she knew was actually Julie in his body be in control of everything.

But. Revenge was not what Carrie was after. She wanted answers. Her leading hypothesis was hypnosis (how else did she get everyone wrapped around her finger?), but Carrie knew Julie was just _ that  _ charming. 

But the second day was exactly what she needed. 

They were out of sorts, and so was everyone else for that matter; no one had ever heard of soulmates staying switched for more than one day. But their confusion would hopefully allow her to pry some answers out herself.

It was near the end of lunch, and Carrie had followed Luke and Julie out into the abandoned hall for a much needed breath. Too bad they weren’t getting silence.

“Nice to see you again, Luke,” Carrie remarked to Julie’s form, “was afraid you’d be gone before we’d get to meet.”

“What do you want, Carrie?” The gruff voice took her a little by surprise, but she was always good at covering inferior reactions.

“Just wanted to say hello. Saw you didn’t have lunch, didn’t feel like eating?”

Julie’s face winced, and Luke’s arm wrapped around her (his.) shoulders. “No, we didn’t feel like it. Too much going on to eat.”

Carrie knew Julie always ate lunch at school. She never brought her own lunch, had never skipped a meal intentionally. Luke had flinched at the mention of food. Did he not like school food? Carrie was never one for the rubbery hot dogs they were serving today either.

“I get that.”

Julie looked at her in bewilderment. Despite looking into the face of a young man, there was no mistaking the pure  _ Julie _ behind his eyes. 

“Um, okay? Was that all? We’d like a moment to ourselves.” Julie snapped. 

Carrie took the bite in stride, chalking up her increased confidence to Luke’s influence. Hey, she may not have swapped yet, but she knew how it worked. 

“Fine.” Carrie threw her hands up in mock surrender. “I’ll just leave you two to figure all this out. Alone.”

She turned on her heel and took carefully calculated steps down the hall, the click of her heels reverberating around the empty hall and back to the cafeteria. She had a few things to think over.

* * * *

Her dad was no help. Carrie had sat down at the breakfast bar with a bowl of granola and yogurt, and gestured for her dad to sit next to her as soon as he came home that afternoon.

As soon as he was settled in front of a bowl of fruit, Carrie started talking. Her dad listened in understanding silence until she got to the part about them skipping lunch.

“They didn’t eat?”

Carrie looked over, his eyes wide. “That’s what stood out to you?”

“Well, you know teen boys,” He fumbled over his words, “always eating.”

Carrie gave him a sideways glance before shrugging it off and taking another bite, taking her time to chew and think about what else needed saying. “I mean, I don’t blame them. It was a busy day for them, and the school’s sorry excuse for hot dogs are gross.”

At the mention of hot dogs, her dad stiffened and she remembered belatedly his irrational aversion. 

“Sorry, I forgot.” She winced. 

“No no baby, you’re fine. Of course, who would eat hot dogs. Right? Hot dogs are… awful. I don’t blame Luke for skipping lunch.”

“Hey, I thought you were supposed to be on my side, here! Not on Julie’s and--” Carrie’s words stopped short in her throat, her own appetite subsiding. “Dad, I never mentioned his name. How did you…?”

If his weird reluctance to respond earlier was enough to raise flags, his sudden remembrance of needing to make a phone call definitely raised the hairs on the back of her neck.

Was her dad…  _ involved _ with Julie’s band? Is that why he was so adamant about seeing them play The Orpheum? And why he acted so weird for days afterward? 

Looking back, her dad and Luke had similar responses to the mention of hot dogs.

Maybe her dad was more help than she’d thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love writing carrie pov! she's just so much fun. it's a little short, sorry, but this IS a juke centric fic :D


End file.
